Unravelling the role of triisopropylphosphane telluride in Ag(i) complexes

Abstract

The coordination chemistry of chalcogenide ligands has always attracted significant interest in the field of inorganic chemistry, especially for soft metals such as those of group 11. Despite the scarcity of research on phosphane tellurides, we report on the synthesis and characterisation of five novel silver complexes containing the phosphane telluride ligand, TeP(ⁱPr)₃, along with other ancillary ligands such as mono or diphosphanes. Spectroscopic studies were performed to investigate the behaviour of these complexes, including their redox properties, as demonstrated by the 1,1′-diphenylphosphaneferrocene (dppf) silver derivatives. Additionally, these complexes showcase remarkable rapid interchange equilibrium, revealing silver species with distinctive Ag₂Te₂ cores and a combination of bridging and terminal TeP(ⁱPr)₃ ligands. A promising avenue for further investigation and potential applications emerges.